To get everyone ready for the first round of the DI tournament that starts tomorrow, Wednesday 3/9, here is a full in-depth preview for each game:
(16) Greenwich @ (1) #2 New Canaan @ 6pm
-There's not much to say about the 1/16 match-up. The two played twice in the regular season and NC won 3-0 then 5-1. Greenwich had a good showing in the FCIAC tournament, only losing 1-2 to #6 Ridgefield, but that can also be credited to Ridgefield not doing so well in the tournament since they lost 2-3 to #9 St. Joseph in their next game. The only hope for Greenwich is that NC doesn't come to play, and it has to be for all three periods, something I just don't see happening at all.
(9) #6 Glastonbury @ (8) #5 Notre Dame-West Haven @ 430
-GAME OF THE DAY right here! Glastonbury is coming off their CCC-North Championship over #8 South Windsor on Saturday while ND-WH hasn't played since their lazy loss at Hamden last Wednesday. Glastonbury has so much talent, size and a great goalie in Chris Hemauser but ND is bigger and their goalie, Greg Harney, is even better! On 1/17, ND-WH beat G-bury 5-2 (a lot closer than score indicates) and G-bury has their top defenseman, Sean Carfi, back from injury now but this game will be down at Bennett Rink and the Green Knights feed off their crowd so much that it is hard to pick against them at home (remember Bennett is Amity and West Haven's home ice too). Anyone who goes to this game will not be disappointed at all and can still catch one of the night games after!
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(13) Amity @ (4) #9 St. Joseph @ 730
-Does this match-up sound familiar? It was the DII Championship game just last year and both new additions to DI had very impressive years (Amity is my #11 team)! Although Amity won the championship game last year 5-2, St. Joseph won 5-0 and 4-2 the two times that these foes met THIS year. Nonetheless, I think Amity has a lot more momentum now, a tournament tested goalie in Alec Mansfield (he won DII in 2008 and 2010) and steps up in the postseason to upset the FCIAC tournament runner-up Cadets. Go Sparty!
(12) Conard @ (5) #6 Ridgefield @ 730
-This is a dangerous match-up actually because Ridgefield needs to rebound from their 2-3 loss to St. Joseph in the FCIAC tournament semifinals last Wednesday and to do that, Conard is not the team you want to face. The Conard Chieftains always seem to play at the level of their opponents, whether that be truckling (SAT word) down to the DII teams they've tied and lost to but are certainly better than, or they elevate to the level of, and beat, teams like #6 Glastonbury and #4 Xavier that are clearly better than them. You never know what you're going to get from Conard and really anything can happen in all of these postseason games to the Ridgefield Tigers better watch out!
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(15) Darien @ (2) #1 Fairfield Prep @ 6
-Like I just said, anything can happen in any of these postseason games, and Darien vs Prep is no different. Yes, Prep is the best team in the state, they have the best offense of any team and a rock solid goalie in John Galiani (who leads the CIAC in shutouts). However, Darien has not played Prep yet his season, they beat Amity, only lost to #6 Ridgefield in OT, and most notably, only lost to #2 New Canaan 0-1 in the FCIAC tournament semifinals. That being said, nothing is impossible.
(10) #10 West Haven @ (7) #3 Hamden @ 6
-Once again, the Louis Astorino Rink welcomes in the Blue Devils. Hamden was all over WH 7-0 at Bennett Rink on 2/19 but when the two played at the Lou earlier in the season on 1/22 it was a 3-3 tie. WH can certainly pull the upset since not only is it the postseason now but this is also big rivalry in high school hockey. However, this is the two-time defending DI champions in Hamden we're talking about and a lot of the players still on the team were contributors in 2010 and 2009.
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(14) Tri-Town @ (3) #8 South Windsor @ 7
-Yet again, one could make a legitimate case for the underdog here. Although South Windsor lucked out in drawing a team for the first round that they've already beat twice, it was only by 2 goals each time (3-1 on 2/7 and 4-2 on 2/26). Also, Tri-Town is coming into the game hyped up from winning the NHC Championship on Saturday while South Windsor let in two goals in the final three minutes to lose the CCC-North Championship to #6 Glastonbury on Saturday. [NOTE: Tri-Town's 3-4 win over North Branford for the NHC Championship was insane...they scored with 8 seconds left in OT!!!!!] It will be interesting to see what happens and if Christian Marchi (who played extremely well on Saturday) or Ryan Serksnas (who is also good) gets the start between the pipes for the Bobcats. I expect a SW win but it should only be by one or two goals maximum.
(11) East Haven @ (6) #4 Xavier @7
-Coming into this game, Xavier's offense is clicking nicely, having scored 16 goals in their last two games (against #10 West Haven and Notre Dame-Fairfield). The Falcons young defense also looks better every game but they will need to continue both of these things, with no let up, to get to Yale and beyond. They beat East Haven 5-2 on 2/10 but the Yellow Jackets are a dangerous team with Andrew Hamilton, Rich Decarlo and Steve Marsico on offense, Tom Brunski leading the defense, Sam Gavigan in goal and a head coach, Lou Pane, with 25 years of experience. Again, there are no easy first round games in DI (except maybe the 1 v 16 match-up) and a couple mistakes could mean the end of your season so its a whole different game mentally!
PICKS: http://hssportsct.blogspot.com/2011/03/boys-hockey-my-tournament-predictions.html
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